Has anyone auditioned the LCD-X with the Taurus? I've seen some mixed reviews, but would like to audition it myself. It seems hard to even locate a dealer on Auralic's confusing website. I'm leaning toward the Ragnarok, where at least I can audition it for 5%.

Out of curiosity, have you actually listened to them or are you basing this off of other information you've read? What did you compare it to? How would you characterize their differences? I noticed that you don't own any of the gear you're talking about.

I was interested in the Auralic after reading the review on Inner Fidelity, but there is so little out there in terms of meaningful comparisons that I'd be hard pressed to buy one without a hands on demo.

Hi there...... Where did you get the idea that I do not own any of the gear I am talking about?...Yes, I have heard all three....and bought the Taurus. My mate owns the ALO and another friend has the Liquid Gold so I have had a good chance to compare all three amps with my X's. A very small part of the decision was based on cost, as the Taurus is significantly cheaper here in the UK, but primarily on how little difference there is between the SQ of them all......and as I say the solid state Taurus beats the hell out of the other two in the bass department as far as I am concerned.

Since ditching my HD800's ...the best thing I ever did by the way.....The X's are in a different league as far as I am concerned and driven by the Taurus quite exceptional.

Has anyone auditioned the LCD-X with the Taurus? I've seen some mixed reviews, but would like to audition it myself. It seems hard to even locate a dealer on Auralic's confusing website. I'm leaning toward the Ragnarok, where at least I can audition it for 5%.

Where did you get the idea that I do not own any of the gear I am talking about?

I based that purely off of glancing at your Head-Fi profile. I meant to say "Your profile doesn't show you owning any of the gear you mention" or something along those lines. Apologies if I offended you in any way.

Quality is pretty subjective, especially when you get to these price points. So when someone makes a statement saying something is better than another, it usually makes sense to try and read their other comments/reviews/purchases to try and discern their likes/dislikes to see if they match up with your own. One person's cup of tea might not work for another person's mouthwash.

I based that purely off of glancing at your Head-Fi profile. I meant to say "Your profile doesn't show you owning any of the gear you mention" or something along those lines. Apologies if I offended you in any way.

Quality is pretty subjective, especially when you get to these price points. So when someone makes a statement saying something is better than another, it usually makes sense to try and read their other comments/reviews/purchases to try and discern their likes/dislikes to see if they match up with your own. One person's cup of tea might not work for another person's mouthwash.

(L-tea, R-mouthwash)

Ha Ha...you didn't offend me in the slightest....I just wondered how you had arrived at such a conclusion. I don't subscribe to announcing to the world what equipment I own. Just so you know though I also have a Benchmark DAC2 HGC which I used to use as my headphone amp as well when I had my HD800's. As good as the amp is on the DAC2 it cannot compete on any level with the Taurus. In fact the X's sound a little bit sterile and uninvolving on it.

However It is a superb Dac and I also use it as a pre amp for my main speakers.

Ha Ha...you didn't offend me in the slightest....I just wondered how you had arrived at such a conclusion. I don't subscribe to announcing to the world what equipment I own. Just so you know though I also have a Benchmark DAC2 HGC which I used to use as my headphone amp as well when I had my HD800's. As good as the amp is on the DAC2 it cannot compete on any level with the Taurus. In fact the X's sound a little bit sterile and uninvolving on it.

However It is a superb Dac and I also use it as a pre amp for my main speakers.

Hello Gray,

Reading these posts with interest, as I'm comparing impressions of the HD800 vs. the LCD-X. Your profile shows you own the HD800 but not the X. So you've announced your inventory. That's what may have led to the confusion.

For what it's worth, I own the X but not the HD800 and am contemplating purchase of the latter. That's my interest.

Reading these posts with interest, as I'm comparing impressions of the HD800 vs. the LCD-X. Your profile shows you own the HD800 but not the X. So you've announced your inventory. That's what may have led to the confusion.

For what it's worth, I own the X but not the HD800 and am contemplating purchase of the latter. That's my interest.

Cheers, mate.

Hi there

Thanks for the heads up. I didn't even know that the information regarding the HD800's was there. Anyway it is out of date as I now own the LCD-X's and the Auralic Taurus mk2 amp. I will get it changed to avoid future confusion!

It is only my opinion but I found the HD800's did not suit my personal ear, although I did persevere with them for a year. In the end it was quite liberating to sell them on as I had thought for a long time that they lacked the sonic picture I was looking for. I found then thin sounding and lacking any real solid bass oomph when I needed it. Underwhelmed in nearly all departments I think sums up my experience of the HD800.

In stark contrast the performance of the X's driven by my Taurus amp is sometimes overwhelming to the point where I cannot quite believe I am listening to a headphone rig. Individually the Taurus and the X's are excellent but partnered together they become something very special indeed.

I do not regret selling my 800's for one moment and I got an excellent price for them as they are very popular. They just didn't quite cut it for me that's all.

Gray what dac are u using with the Taurus. I am considering the vega to go with either the Taurus / studio six / liquid gold. Still not sure which amp to go with yet since I can't audition any of them though I am leaning towards the studio six right now

Gray what dac are u using with the Taurus. I am considering the vega to go with either the Taurus / studio six / liquid gold. Still not sure which amp to go with yet since I can't audition any of them though I am leaning towards the studio six right now

To be honest I am more than happy with the performance of my Benchmark DAC2 HGC which is a very very capable DAC which can also process DSD files so its bang up to date.

I have looked at the Vega but I am not sure it will be any great improvement over my Benchmark.

Hi there
Thanks for the heads up. I didn't even know that the information regarding the HD800's was there. Anyway it is out of date as I now own the LCD-X's and the Auralic Taurus mk2 amp. I will get it changed to avoid future confusion!
It is only my opinion but I found the HD800's did not suit my personal ear, although I did persevere with them for a year. In the end it was quite liberating to sell them on as I had thought for a long time that they lacked the sonic picture I was looking for. I found then thin sounding and lacking any real solid bass oomph when I needed it. Underwhelmed in nearly all departments I think sums up my experience of the HD800.
In stark contrast the performance of the X's driven by my Taurus amp is sometimes overwhelming to the point where I cannot quite believe I am listening to a headphone rig. Individually the Taurus and the X's are excellent but partnered together they become something very special indeed.
I do not regret selling my 800's for one moment and I got an excellent price for them as they are very popular. They just didn't quite cut it for me that's all.

Very interesting. I own the Vega and Taurus Mk.II. I preferred the HD800 over the LCD-X.

With my BDA-2/GS-X Mk2, I'd take the LCD-X, but I still love my HD800s.

I wonder if the X's I had on demo were early stage or something. There is such glowing praise here and I just didn't hear it. They sounded closed in and congested on anything more than a few instruments. I actually preferred the presentation of my LCD2.2 over the LCD-X

I wonder if the X's I had on demo were early stage or something. There is such glowing praise here and I just didn't hear it. They sounded closed in and congested on anything more than a few instruments. I actually preferred the presentation of my LCD2.2 over the LCD-X

What amp/dac/source material? How long did you have them for? There really is no contest with the LCD-X over the LCD-2s. The LCD-X offer the best soundstaging of all the Audeze headphones to my ears.

Reading these posts with interest, as I'm comparing impressions of the HD800 vs. the LCD-X. Your profile shows you own the HD800 but not the X. So you've announced your inventory. That's what may have led to the confusion.

For what it's worth, I own the X but not the HD800 and am contemplating purchase of the latter. That's my interest.

Cheers, mate.

Hi there

Thanks for the heads up. I didn't even know that the information regarding the HD800's was there. Anyway it is out of date as I now own the LCD-X's and the Auralic Taurus mk2 amp. I will get it changed to avoid future confusion!

It is only my opinion but I found the HD800's did not suit my personal ear, although I did persevere with them for a year. In the end it was quite liberating to sell them on as I had thought for a long time that they lacked the sonic picture I was looking for. I found then thin sounding and lacking any real solid bass oomph when I needed it. Underwhelmed in nearly all departments I think sums up my experience of the HD800.

In stark contrast the performance of the X's driven by my Taurus amp is sometimes overwhelming to the point where I cannot quite believe I am listening to a headphone rig. Individually the Taurus and the X's are excellent but partnered together they become something very special indeed.

I do not regret selling my 800's for one moment and I got an excellent price for them as they are very popular. They just didn't quite cut it for me that's all.

Happy for you that you found a great pairing. I spoke with a dealer that carries that both auralic and pathos and Audeze. Both brands making great equipment but conclusion was the pathos Aurium sounded better than the Auralic with the X and was a better value. I bought the pathos and the studio six. I believe the studio six edges out the pathos in sq. But something magical about the pathos Aurium especially with the X and XC. But in this league with Audeze and any of these amps we are talking marginal differences, and our own ears and their preferences outweigh everything so go with what sounds best to you.